


Beyond The Dream

by Dragonwolf_Dreamwalker



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 08:37:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18587671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonwolf_Dreamwalker/pseuds/Dragonwolf_Dreamwalker
Summary: The journeys of a Druid.





	1. It Begins...

**Author's Note:**

> There is currently some minor depictions of violence, but I felt the "graphic depictions of violence" to be overkill (no pun intended) for this piece so far. That may change in the future, though.

I could hear the war drums and shouts of the nearby Gelkis, but their unpreparedness cost us all precious seconds. By the time they reached us, the Magrams had already washed through most of our camp.

My family's tent was closest to the Gelkis village, yet even so, by the time they arrived, my parents were all that stood between the Magram warrior and me.

He seemed large and brutish, even by Magram standards. Regardless, the superior weaponry of the Gelkis, and the natural strength of my father's horns made short work of him. A spear, then a sword in quick succession, cut through his torso from the sides with ease as my father rammed him, impaling him through the stomach from the front. Somewhere in that instant, the Magram landed a return blow on my father, gravely injuring him. The lightning cast the scene in stark, green-hued contrast.

My mother attempted to aid my father, but reacted too quickly. She reached them before they disentangled, and while the Magram was still alive. He reared and kicked, hitting my mother, killing her almost instantly even as he fell to death.

The rest of the night remains a blur as I drifted through it in shock. I stayed by my father as the battle raged for what seemed like an eternity. I don’t remember if I did anything to try to stop the bleeding and save him--or if I even knew how, then.

Eventually, the battle ended and the Gelkis combed our camp for survivors, bringing us within their village borders, in case of another attack. They patched up the wounded, but their healing skills were primitive and there were so many…


	2. Dawn

The centaurs must have sent word to Ghost Walker Post, for out of the shadow of the mountains and into the morning light came the group of various races that inhabited the outpost. From the western path, glowing from the hazy sun at its back, came a creature I had never seen before. Its form was similar to that of the centaur, but this creature was distinctly different. It emanated life, as if the Earthmother, herself, flowed through it.

When it arrived, it immediately began healing the wounded, centaur and shu’halo alike. I watched, fascinated. We had our own shaman, but his working with the elements was nothing compared to...this.

“I am sorry, child,” the creature had a soft voice, and a look of empathy, “there is nothing I can do for him. His wounds are too great, even for my skills.” She told me the grave news -- for up close I could that the creature was, indeed, female -- yet something about her made me feel at peace with it. It was though she was the embodiment of the Earthmother, and she was embracing one of her children once more, welcoming him home.

I remember that she stayed with us until his final breath, sometime that evening. After his passing, the survivors and reinforcements held a funeral for our fallen. The centaurs burned their people on great pyres, while we wrapped our own in their blankets and made biers out of their now-shattered tent poles, so that we could transport them to a proper graveyard.

After the rites, the creature found a quiet place away from the rest, where I originally thought she meant to sleep. And it looked like she slept, but her body glowed faintly, despite the lack of moonlight.

I studied her, enthralled by her alien beauty and magic, until I could no longer hold my eyes open.


	3. A New Beginning

I awoke the next morning to a small pile of apples and the creature studying me as I had studied her the night before.

“Eat, little one. There is much we need to talk about.”

For the first time since we arrived in the grey place, the sky was clear, truly clear. In that clear morning light, I finally saw the exact toll the attack had taken. My tribe was nearly totally decimated. Of the more than 20 who had arrived, less than half remained, most of which were the very old or very young, who had been in the farthest tents from the start of the attack. There was no way we were going to survive on our own. We wouldn't survive another attack.

“I can see the gravity of your situation has started to set in,” the creature kneeled down beside me.

“What will happen to us?” I asked.

“Your elders are discussing the details as we speak. They were talking about going to Thunder Bluff. However, your fate may lie elsewhere… If you let it.”

I stared for a moment, confused. “Who… What are you?” The question spilled out before I could even think to stop it, the curiosity of my youth shining through even in this terrible, confusing time.

She smiled, amused, “I am Selendra, Daughter of Cenarius -- a dryad. I spent last night in conference with others of my order. There is potential in you, child. The magic of nature flows through you more easily than even through your fellow tribesmen, and you possess strength, empathy, and a desire to help others that makes you a suitable candidate to become a Druid.

“Be mindful that doing so will require great training, and you will be called to aid in battles and wars yet to come. I do not expect you to take this decision lightly, and I apologize for presenting this to you at such a young age, but circumstances do not allow for waiting.”

We talked at length, I had many questions, which I have long forgotten. Selendra was kind and patient enough to answer them all. I was both fascinated and terrified at the prospect, but of course, in the end, I agree. The helplessness I felt during and after the attack by the Magram Clan was something I never wanted to endure again. I wanted to fight, and I wanted to save the wounded. I wanted to make sure my tribe had a fighting chance, instead of being slaughtered like livestock.


	4. Embarking On The Path

And so, I became a Druid.

The tribe Elders chose to settle down in Thunder Bluff, weary from life and desiring to share their wisdom in peace, without the constant threat from the centaur clans. Thunder Bluff promised to be that haven.

The other orphaned younglings were given similar offers to enter training to become defenders of Azeroth. Some accepted, some declined. Those who declined, or were too young, were sent with the Elders to Thunder Bluff, where they would go to the orphanage. The one intact family was free to go with any of the other tribes in the area who would take them, should they choose. How that worked, I didn't know. Regardless, it was the last time I would see any of them for a very long time, if ever.

As for me, I was sent to a small village in the plains territory on the other side of the barrier mountains in which Thunder Bluff sat, which the inhabitants called Mulgore. There, the Dryad introduced me to the Mistrunner tribe, specifically, Gart Mistrunner, the tribe's teacher of the druidic ways.


	5. Gart

He was upper middle aged when I met him. Not old, but old enough to take his place as teacher for the next generations. His black patches had hints of grey on the edges--only enough for an observant Tauren to detect.

He looked me up and down, pacing around me for several minutes as I stood, awkward at his long silence and piercing, inspecting gaze.

“Yes... I see why she sent you to me. There is great potential in you. 

“But my training is not easy. It will require strenuous physical training and intense studying. The way of the Druid requires proficiency in many skills--more than any other path. You will learn the strength of Ursoc and Ursol, the prowess of Ashamane, the astral magic of Elune, and the healing magic of G’Hanir, but only if you're willing to commit yourself wholly to being a student of nature, Cenarius, and the Wild Gods.”

I nodded, my conviction still going strong from the recent events. I never wanted to feel helpless like that again, and I was willing to do what it took to gain the strength and skill needed to protect all I held dear.

“Your love for your people and world is admirable, but be careful not to let it consume you. Even the most noble causes can destroy you,” he warned. At the time, I didn't understand that he was referring to Illidan.

The next several years were a grueling flurry of training, filled with reading, hunting, running, sparring, and walking the Emerald Dream. He would test me at random, even in the middle of the night, and even using someone--or something--else.

“You must learn as much as you can about the world, its history, and its people,” he would tell me. “It is the only way to ensure past mistakes are not repeated, and the future of all races are preserved until their time comes to make way for new life.”


	6. Dreamwalker

The Emerald Dream was among my favorite places to visit. I suspect it's because it reminded me so much of my homeland (the plains of Mulgore were far too open for my liking, and I missed my Green Dragon and treant friends). I would visit it every chance I got, even if Shando Gart didn't always approve. He didn't like me going alone at such a young age.

It was there that I met another group of Shu’halo Druids, a tribe by the name of Dreamwalker. Physically, they inhabited a series of caves in what they called Stonetalon Mountains, but they spent most of their time traveling the world via the Dream, and some traveled it physically.

One Druid, in particular, took to me as if I were one of her own. Her name was Dragonwolf. She had already traveled much of the world by the time we had met. She told me stories of great pillars of stone with boulders that seemed to defy gravity, giant mountains that spewed fire, jungles filled with Trolls and raptors, of a world where islands floated in the sky as water tumbled from them in sparkling waterfalls, and many other wondrous things, only some of which we could reach within the Emerald Dream.

It was only after meeting Dragonwolf that Gart relaxed about my ventures through the Dream. He seemed to regard her highly. I would eventually come to know why -- she was a great hero who fought many battles and was pivotal in taking down Nefarian and Ragnaros in Black Rock Mountain, as well as aiding in the battles against the Old Gods, among other accomplishments.

Those were unknown to me, then, and in many cases had not yet even occurred. In those days, we traveled the Dream, training, hunting, and healing together. She taught me many things in our time together, too many, even, to remember them all.

She gave me gifts, too. A set of leather armor she used to wear, as well as a well-worn staff she had saved. “To get you started,” she told me, smiling. “The day will come when we will no longer be able to travel the Dream together. When that time comes, you’ll need supplies.”

That time, of course, eventually did come. The events with Garrosh Hellscream required her to cross not just distance (as her travels to Outland had), but also into a dimension that cut her off from our Emerald Dream.

She never forgot me, though. She’d periodically send me other gifts from her travels. Strange trinkets and fascinating beasts.

“The Cenarian Circle provided me with this noble and loyal creature, but I am afraid that he does not see the action he deserves when he is with me. I hope he will carry you swiftly and safely to your destinations and on your travels,” the note attached to the hippogryph said.

In another note, attached to a strange little half-owl, half-cat creature: “I found this adorable little creature in fields of Suramar, on the Broken Isles, and I immediately thought of you. It is called an Owl Cat. Or, rather, an Owl _Kitten_. Do not be fooled by its small size, as Owl Cats are as fierce as Ashamane, herself, even when so small. I hope it keeps you company on your travels!”


End file.
